Question: I've heard that the first draft is squarely 'your story' with no editing or thinking. Does that mean literally anything goes? So if I wanted a scene in my fantasy where Gregreo teaches Mishu how to swim, just write it and worry about its place later? Is that what they mean? Just write whatever without worrying about its place or its meaning to the overall story?
Yup. If it's something you want to write, do it. If your story develops to the point where you want to put it in, then do it. If it turns out it has no place in the story, then leave it out. Or put it in and revise it out later. Or you can write it and adjust your story to fit it. Yeah, first draft when "pantsing" means literally anything goes. It's called discovery writing for a reason.
Sure, why not? The important thing is getting the first draft done, so whatever fills up the page is a victory to some extent. Mainly to prove to yourself that it can be done if you haven't finished anything before.
Yes. Caveat: do start out with your expectations properly in check. If you're looking pants it and end up with a novel that is sort of decent with a beginning and a middle and an end and just needs a bit of a spit shine, good god, no. My "first draft" rarely even includes an ending or much of a plot. I just write everything that pops into my head and it rarely adds up to a plot or even has an ending. That's my Pants Draft. After that I settle down, outline, plot, scheme, work, all that left brain stuff. So if the goal is to explore your story and setting and characters and come up with good scenes and surprising dialogue or maybe a plot twist or two, yes, that will absolutely happen and it's magic.
All this time, and I never knew this. Geez, no wonder I've never completed anything -- I've always jumped in attempting to write the finished draft of the novel first, always worrying about what fit or doesn't. But seriously, I appreciate the answers. So I can go write the 'Gregreo teaches Mishu to swim' scene even if it's gonna be cut out later.
Oh hell yeah, go for it. Sounds like a whale of a time. Hah! Get it? I slay myself. Everyone's process is a little different. It usually includes the same broad strokes (pantsing, plotting, editing, etc.) but we all work out a system that works for us. What's good for one writer won't necessarily work for the other. I need my Pants Draft to get excited about a story, but I know plenty of people who start with a synopsis and go from there. The only way to develop your own process is to try. If something doesn't feel right, try something else. And ignore that little voice that says WELL YOU'RE CLEARLY NOT A WRITER THEN. A writer is someone who writes. The only way to keep writing is to make it engaging for yourself. Your current process doesn't work. Toss it. Have fun. Forget that editing is even a thing. See where you end up and go from there.
I think so. It's a playground, a place where you get to experiment and get everything down and see if it works, because truth is, you often can't tell if it works until you reread the whole thing with fresh eyes anyway based on more factors than just what happens in one scene. I can't do the whole not editing thing though - it has to make sense to me, at least, and the quality of writing has to be of a certain standard otherwise even I don't wanna read it. Now that's no good, is it?
Aww... poor Mishu doesn't like water. :3 She's holding onto Gregreo for dear life and he has to basically tell her they're in the shallow end, and she can stand in it. (Not sure how realistic it'd be for her to not know how to swim given she lives in a port city and frequents the beaches...)
Damn... Guess I shouldn't be surprised... Well, it'd be a perfect way for character development and to show some of Mishu's more vulnerable side.
Oh ya totally! It would be a great way to explore how she faces her fears, does she jump right in, does it take that final "push", or does she realize the real obstacle wasn't the water, but was inside her the whole time? Definitely something to chew over.
